After the embezzlement of Monómeros, a Venezuelan petrochemical company based in Colombia, promoted by leaders of the national extreme right and the former president of Colombia, Iván Duque, new leaders of corruption plots continue to come to light that caused the bankruptcy of the production company of fertilizers.
Camilo Uribe, the brother of the former president of the neighboring country, Álvaro Uribe, is also among one of the managers of the embezzlement. Uribe received multi-million dollar contracts without support through a company that provides financial advisory services called “Dorr Asset Management”, based in the Cayman Islands, British territory, of which the younger brother of the former head of State, is a partner and director.
The article “Monómeros y el Uribato”, by the Colombian journalist María Jimena Duzán, indicates that the payments, clandestine to embezzlement leaders, amount to more than 170,000 dollars and were delivered to Camilo Uribe and his partners without any support, without fulfilling control filters and in the midst of the complicit silence of the Democratic Center, the government of Iván Duque and the Prosecutor’s Office.
The investigation reveals that the multimillion-dollar payments to Camilo Uribe were approved without going through the filters of the respective committees. The payment order was given in contravention of all the controls required by the internal regulations and the suppliers were not required to present a commercial proposal stating the purpose and scope of the contracted service.
There were no guarantee policies for the advances that were given and neither was the registration of incorporation and the commercial registration of Dorr Asset Management obtained, essential to establish the legality of the company with which it is contracting. In addition, there was no contract, as stipulated by the company’s regulations, according to which payments for services greater than $100,000 must be made by contract. In other words, “those payments were made under the table,” the investigation specifies.
The findings were made in an audit delivered in April this year and was requested by the petrochemical company’s outgoing board of directors.
Duzán explains that during the process of evaluating the actions of the company’s administrative board, five contracts totaling 2,000 million pesos were audited, only one met the requirements for processing it and it was revealed that William Otero, Former financial manager of Monómeros and Duque’s confidant in the company, he was the promoter of illegal contracts.
The date of the payments coincided with the visit made to Colombia by the opposition leader and fugitive from justice, Leopoldo López, in December 2020, to meet with former President Uribe at his farm.
Days ago, Rodrigo Ramírez, a member of the new board of directors of Monómeros, declared about these irregularities to the newspaper Semanario Voz: “it is an audit that is being carried out on the company. Five contracts are reviewed that are for the amount of 2,000 million pesos. Uribe’s brother received payments of $170,000, but these contracts were never executed. That is to say, Camilo Uribe received transfers even without having signed something official by the general manager of Monómeros. There was never a formal link with the company, however, the finance area headed by Mr. William Otero made the disbursements. This is something that needs to be thoroughly investigated.”
He stated that the Venezuelan opposition “while in control of Monómeros, was guided by private economic and political interests. In all this scandal who finally lost was the country, the company and its workers. Justice will be the one to clarify this entire episode of corruption.”
arrest warrants
With the reestablishment of relations between Colombia and Venezuela, the government of President Gustavo Petro ordered the return of control of the company to the National Executive. In this sense, the Minister for Petroleum, Tareck El Aissami, reported that after the investigation of those involved in the theft of Monómeros, there are 23 international arrest warrants against a group of Venezuelans for the crimes of usurpation of functions, Conspiracy to commit a crime and money laundering.
The official made it clear that the robbery against Monómeros was planned by a “trilogy of evil” made up of Duque and opposition leaders Leopoldo López and Juan Guaidó.
The head of the oil portfolio lamented that the petrochemical company was at 100% of its production capacity before the illegal board took control of it.
The Venezuelan government appointed a new board of directors for the Colombian-Venezuelan company to give continuity to the production of fertilizers.
“Monómeros is viable due to its relationship with Pequiven. Colombia has the plant, the geographical location, the workers, the productive knowledge and the market. In addition, it has the economic opening with other countries. What does Venezuela have? Well, the most important thing, the possibility of supplying raw materials, such as urea, with a lower price on the international market. The relationship with Pequiven, as the parent company, becomes fundamental in this sense”, said Ramírez.
In 2019, the National Assembly in contempt approved an agreement to appoint an ad hoc board of directors, imposed by former deputy Juan Guaidó, backed by the then governments of the United States and Colombia. Such a decision caused the loss of millions of dollars to the Venezuelan State, which despite the fact that the Supreme Court of Justice of Venezuela declared the nullity of said appointment, the Duque government supported the initiative of the Venezuelan opposition, violating international law.
recover production
Recovering the production levels of Monomers is the goal of the company’s Venezuelan and Colombian workers.
After the decision of the Government of New Granada to return control of the company to Venezuela, the president of the Petrochemical Company of Venezuela (Pequiven) -owner of 100% of Monómeros- Pedro Tellechea, assured that they will recover the installed capacity to boost the agricultural system from both countries.
Last month, company workers presented a report after analyzing the state of the petrochemical industry, in which it was indicated that production fell back two years during the management of the illegal directive.
Monomers covers 40% of the fertilizers that go towards the production of Colombian fields. Venezuela sent 8,000 tons of urea to the subsidiary to start the company’s operations.
